Verse 1
Amazing grace. How sweet the sound
grace
That saved a wretch like me.
grace
I once was lost, but now I'm found.
Was blind, but now I see.
Verse 2
'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear
grace
My Chains Are Gone
And grace my fears relieved.
grace
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed.
grace
Chorus
My chains are gone.
I've been set free.
My God, my Savior has ransomed me
And like a flood His mercy reigns
Unending love, amazing grace.
grace
Verse 3
The Lord has promised good to me.
promise
His word my hope secures.
promise
He will my shield and portion be
As long as life endures.
GRACE
Beginning with the right thumb touching the
fingertips, palm facing forward above the right
shoulder, twist the wrist inward, spreading the
fingers while moving down to the right side of
the head. Hint: The hand seems to take something from God and shower it down, and
signifies God’s divine love being bestowed
freely upon mankind.
PROMISE
Beginning with the extended right index
finger pointing up in front of the lips, palm
facing left, move the right hand down while
changing to an open hand, ending with the
palm of the open right hand on the indexfinger side of the left "s" hand held in front
of the chest, palm facing right. Hint: Bringing words down to seal them in a contract.
Chorus (2 times)
Verse 4
The earth shall soon dissolve like snow.
The sun forbear to shine.
But God, Who called me here below,
Will be forever mine,
forever
FOREVER
Move the extended right index finger from
touching the right side of the forehead
downward while changing into a “Y” hand.
Then move the right “Y” hand, (palm facing
down), in a small arc to the left or in an arc
forward and up.
Will be forever mine.
forever
You are forever mine.
forever
Remember, American Sign Language, is the language of the d/Deaf culture. It is a conceptual language. It is not
English Language word for word. The signs, the facial expressions and body language express the context.
"Amazing Grace Devotional"
By Joe Stowell
President of Cornerstone University, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Strength for the Journey Web Ministry Devotional
"While we were still sinners, Christ died for Us.” Romans 5:8
There are a few hymns that I really like, and “Amazing Grace” is one of them. But somehow, like so many
other familiar tunes, the weight of the words soon gets lost in our familiarity with the song. From bagpipe
bands, to presidential events, to state funerals, to gospel songfests, to nearly every church in America,
“Amazing Grace” has been performed so many times that we easily become numbed to its profoundly
disturbing message.
You know the first line by heart: “Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me . . .” Hold
on. Me—a wretch?!
None of us like to think about how wretched we are. We’d rather live in the self-delusion that compared to
others we aren’t all that bad after all. We go to great lengths to look and feel good about ourselves. We exercise
and diet to lose weight so we look good at the beach. We put makeup on in the morning so that we look good
when we get to work. I ask my wife to help me pick out clothes so that I look good when I speak in church. And
when someone says, “Hey, you’re lookin’ good!” we feel we have arrived.
But here’s the sobering news. If we were to look at ourselves the way God sees us even when we have it all
together, we would see something totally different. He sees through all of our efforts to be “lookin’ good.” His
vision probes far deeper than the all-too-cool clothes we wear, our makeup, our rippling abs and our great tan.
He strips away the layers of self-delusion and penetrates deep into our hearts where each of us is a desperately
lost sinner. And, no matter how good you think you are, it’s not until we know that we are like condemned
criminals before Him that we can begin to understand how amazing His grace really is. When you can honestly
say that His grace saved a wretch like you, you can begin to stand in amazement at the greatness of His grace.
In fact, His grace is only a “sweet sound” when you know how deep it had to go to clean you up!
What is God’s amazing grace? It’s the outstretched love of Jesus whose agonizing death and victorious
resurrection saves us from who we really are—not from who we think we are. Romans 5:8 says: “While we
were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” He died the worst kind of death imaginable, because it needed to cover the
wretchedness of our desperately lost souls. We weren’t lookin’ good when He died for us. If we were as cool as
we think we are, He could have stayed in heaven. But like hopeless beggars trapped in the sludge of sin, we
needed Him. And so He came and died in our place. Now that’s what I call amazing!
Getting over our self-deluded sense of coolness is step one toward reveling in the stunning grace of God. Every
once in a long while someone will come up to me and say: “Hey, Stowell, you’re a really good man.” And
while I like the sound of that, I know in my heart that I am not a good man. I’m a fallen man in desperate need
of help. But by His grace I am a forgiven man. I thank God every day that there was a Really
Good Man who lived on the earth 2,000 years ago who hung on a cross to save a wretch like
me!
"Hands in Praise" is an American Sign Language (ASL) Christian choir sponsored by
Bethel Lutheran Church, Windsor, Colorado.
For information, call Director, Elaine Mainwaring, 970-696-5319 or
go to www.bethelwindsor.com - Ministries, click-Hand in Praise
Please feel free to take this praise sheet home with you and share with others.